Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Under the moon

This is where we are tonight, under the moon.

Oh, wait, it's not the moon. It's Lidl's big round sign. We're in Leamington Spa, sorry, Royal Leamington Spa. Possibly the most convenient place on the system for supermarkets, with Lidl as close as it's possible to be; Morrisons a short walk along the towpath and across one road, and Aldi hardly any further. There's also a Sainsbury's just beyond Aldi. Just half a mile or so nearer Warwick is a canalside Tesco.

Yesterday we saw Savoy Hill; this morning it tied up in front of us, giving us a chance to talk to Mike and Jenny (?), and Mike's parents. Savoy Hill is the BBC Club's narrowboat, an earlier iteration of which we enjoyed a few holidays on back in the 1980s.

I love the tiller pin, a representation of an AXBT ribbon microphone, the BBC's studio mic for 30 years from the 1930s.

No sooner had Savoy Hill gone than Hadar turned up to use the same Lidl mooring. It was good to see Jo and Keith, who came aboard for coffee/tea.

In the afternoon we walked into the town, the first time we'd visited. And what a fine place it turned out to be, with a parade of grand buildings in the Parade (that's the name of the main street) and plenty of interest. For example, the Royal Pump Room and Baths, now a museum and art gallery; and the Glasshouse, a modern glass building housing tropical plants. There are parks a-plenty and people. The place was populous with pedestrians parading along Parade (OK, that's enough - Ed.)

In the art gallery I saw an early forerunner to Mike Smith's Blogshank. Not as witty, though.

And here's an evening sunshine shot of the canal from our mooring.

I shall try to get back into the swing of blogging again, family events allowing.